Ink
by weirdgirl42
Summary: Skye finds out a secret about Coulson. Philinda all the way. Some minor spoilers for the finale.


_Disclaimer: I don't own anything._

**Ink**

As Director of SHIELD Coulson thought his days getting covered in slime of unknown origins would be over. And yet here he was frantically shucking clothes in order to get into decontamination showers as quickly as possible.

It was supposed to be a routine welcome wagon. Coulson was only there because they were a little short staffed that day and he hadn't wanted Skye going alone. He'd normally have sent Trip along but Trip and Simmons were in Buenos Aries tracking down some crackpot scientist that Simmons believed might have an idea on how to undo the GH drug side effects. May would also normally be an option but she had asked to remain behind and help Fitz with some PT. So Coulson and Skye had taken Lola to a facility in San Francisco that was holding an artifact found in Muir Woods.

It should have taken an hour tops. But just their luck as soon as they arrived the metal cylinder had started to shake and then it exploded, leaving Coulson, Skye, and two other scientists covered in a thick blue goop. Alarms sounded and the four contaminated individuals were rushed to the showers.

Coulson stood under the harsh spray and listened vaguely to Skye's rants about having enough unknown substances in their bodies thank you very much. Eventually he decided he'd scrubbed himself as clean as possible and there was no trace of blue on him that he could see. They would have to run more tests back at the Playground but for now there was nothing else to do. He stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist, quickly turning away from the neighboring shower as he heard the water turn off and Skye start to step out.

"Jeez," came Skye's voice.

Coulson turned and saw that thankfully she had one towel wrapped around her body and another around her hair. He followed her gaze and then squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. His scar. She must have seen the one on his back and then he turned and…

May was the only person who'd ever seen them. No one else on the team had ever seen him without a shirt before. He forced a smile. "It's alright," he said. "It's not like they hurt." He grabbed the scrubs that had been left for them to put on and ducked quickly back into the shower stall to dress. When he reemerged he saw that she had done the same, though her hair was again wrapped in a towel. Her face still reflected concern and she was chewing on her bottom lip.

"Hey," he said, reaching out to touch her shoulder. "It's okay. I'm…I'm fine." He stumbled a little over the words because they both knew that he wasn't totally fine. Neither of them were. Not yet. But that conversation was best left for another day. So Skye nodded in agreement and reached out to lightly pat his chest, as if reminding herself that he was real and his heart was still beating for now.

"So," she said as they made their way back to Lola. "Was that some ink I saw on your arm?"

Coulson's hand immediately went to his right bicep, unconsciously covering the tattoo that lay beneath the thin cotton.

"I knew it!" Skye said. "Let me see!" She stopped walking and tried to lift the sleeve enough to see but he shooed her hand away.

"Skye!"

"Oh come on. I wanna see what happens when AC steps outside the lines a little."

Coulson rolled his eyes but raised the sleeve anyway, knowing he'd get no peace until he complied. Skye reached out and brushed her fingers over the fine black lines of two Chinese characters inside a series of circles that obviously represented a shield. "What does it mean?" Skye asked.

Coulson rolled his sleeve back down and got into the car. "That's classified," he said.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Skye saw my tattoo today."

May looked up from where she was brushing her teeth turned to Coulson who sitting in bed reviewing a file. She spit and rinsed her mouth and sat down on the bed facing him, her lips quirked in a smile. "Did you tell her what it meant?"

"Are you kidding?"

Now May was smiling outright. She grabbed the file from his hands and placed it carefully on the nightstand. Then she grabbed his shirt and ignored his half-hearted protests as she lifted it over his head and threw it towards the foot of the bed. With his upper body now bare she touched the design on his arm. "That was a good day," she said quietly, her fingers still tracing over each delicate line.

Coulson was transported back almost 10 years. Long after they first met but long before Bahrain and the helicarrier and Hydra. A mission in New Orleans had gone well. Each objective accomplished with no injuries to anyone on the team. He, May, and Barton had decided to celebrate on Bourbon St. and gotten more drunk than Phil could ever remember being. It was also the happiest he'd ever been up to that point in his life. He and May had been sleeping together for months, though Clint was the only one who knew. They knew they had to keep it a secret, regulations and all, but that night they just pretended that there was no one to answer to.

Parts of that night were a blur but he could remember thinking to himself that Melinda May was the most wonderful person he'd ever known and that he would love her as long as she let him.

He doesn't remember going into the tattoo parlor but he does remember Clint laughing from the next chair where he was getting an arrow inked along his spine. He remembers how May had laughingly kissed him when he yelped in pain as the needle touched his arm for the first time.

Now in his, well their room, at the Playground he realized that nothing had really changed since that day. Nothing important at least. They may have separated and only recently come back together, but he would still love her as long as she let him.

May had finally stopped her examination of the tattoo and was now leaning against his bare chest. "I always half expected you to get it removed," she admitted. "After…everything."

"No," he said. "I was devastated when you left. But I never wanted to erase you or us."

She was silent but Coulson could feel a slight dampness on his chest.

"That being said," he added, trying to lighten the mood, "I'd still prefer if Skye didn't know what it meant."

May laughed and Coulson let the sound wash over him like a breeze. She laughed so rarely it always felt like a balm to his heart when it did happen.

"You're probably right," May said. "She's seen the Providence lie detector videos. She'd probably have a heart attack if she knew you had 'Qiaolian' tattooed on your arm."

They sat together for a while longer before sliding down to actually lie on the bed. Coulson turned off the light but decided he didn't care enough to put his shirt back on.

"Did you ever regret it?" May asked in the darkness.

Coulson reached out and cupped her cheek, bringing her close and kissing her forehead and then her lips. "Never."

**The End**

_Thanks for reading!_


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